GYGO: Accessible Design, Native-Led Games, and the Death of an Institution

Welcome to GYGO! I’m Kael, your local disaster magnet, and this week I’ve been having a hard time gaming on account of a second-degree burn. That’s the last time I try to do something responsible like vehicle maintenance. That being said, I’m not one to let pain hold me back, and there was certainly plenty of it as I scoured the internet (and typed out) this week’s hottest news!

AbleGamers Makes Accessible Game Design More… Accessible

AbleGamers has released a new site, Accessible.Games, that outlines common accessibility issues in video games and outlines approaches that could reduce barriers for everyone. As well as the new database of design patterns, the site also incorporates AbleGamers Player Panels program, which connects game developers and players with disabilities so that both can benefit from the insight of lived experience.

Goodbye Game Informer Australia

Game Informer Australia is shutting its doors after 27 years. This comes after market shares for their (once removed) parent company, GameStop, fell after being unable to secure a buyer. The magazine is to be replaced by American Game Informer, which is may lead to less localized coverage of the Australian game development industry.

When Rivers Were Trails Reframes Early American History

When Rivers Were Trails is a The Oregon Trail inspired role-playing game that fills in some of the holes left by the 90s classic, namely the Native people already living in the newly “settled” areas. The game follows an Anishinaabeg who is displaced by the Dawes Act. They must make a dangerous journey across the country to find a new home for themselves.

Maintenance? More like Paintanence!

Nintendo’s servers crashed this week, coinciding with the addition of Persona 4’s Joker to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s lineup. Initially, many believed that the sheer volume of players attempting to get access to the character brought the servers down. In reality, it seems that scheduled server maintenance happened to overlap with Joker’s release, effectively postponing the character’s launch for those affected.

Overwatch Updates Add Land and Lore

Two new updates have hit Overwatch this week. The seasonal event, Archives, delves into the lore of the game with another co-op mission, and is available on the main servers. The new assault map, Havana, is living on the PTR for those interested in testing it out.

All Digital Convention Hits Steam May 10th

LudoNarraCon is an all-digital convention dedicated to narrative games hosted entirely through Steam. It will have its own Steam event page, which will function kind of like the convention hall. Attendees can watch trailers and panels, and even try special demos from the page. PC Gamer reported that the convention is meant to remove barriers that many indie games have at more physical conventions, such as touring costs and competing with massive titles.

In Other News…

• PlayStation 5’s specs are out, and they’re beefy
• Twitch and Harmonix have teamed up to create a karaoke game for streaming
• Pablo Schreiber has been confirmed to play Showtime’s Master Chief
• The Last of Us Part 2 wrapped its final shoot. On Twitter, Neil Druckmann described it as a emotional experience for everyone in the studio